JP4835357B2 - Display method for information processing apparatus - Google Patents

Description

  The present invention relates to a display method of an information processing apparatus that displays menus and items assigned to items in the X-axis direction and the Y-axis direction in an easy-to-understand manner on a narrow area display screen.

  Conventionally, tabular data in which items are arranged in the horizontal axis direction and data including these items are arranged in the vertical axis direction has been generally used. Such tabular data management is widely used as spreadsheet software for information processing apparatuses.

  These spreadsheet software arranges many items in the horizontal axis, that is, the X-axis direction, or accumulates and displays a large amount of data in the vertical axis, that is, the Y-axis direction. It is general-purpose software that can be used as software. However, since these spreadsheet softwares have a large number of data, it is difficult to find a specific item of target data on a narrow display screen, and there is a problem that the display becomes small even if it is found. For this reason, improvements such as splitting and displaying the screen have been attempted.

  The tabular data management can be seen not only in the calculation software but also in the program guide browsing software. In this program guide, channels are displayed in the horizontal axis direction, and dates and times are displayed in time series in the vertical axis direction. When browsing this program guide, it is difficult to select a target channel from a large number of channels in the horizontal axis direction, and to select programs arranged in a large number of time series in the vertical axis direction. If these are enlarged, characters and the like are easy to see, but there is a problem that it is difficult to grasp the whole image.

  Also, when displaying various menus, a menu screen in which multiple function-specific buttons are arranged in the vertical or horizontal axis direction, and when the cursor is placed on this function-specific button, a detailed menu is displayed in a pull-down format. Is also common.

JP 2001-22862 A JP 2002-142160 A

  Each of the conventional examples is realized as independent software or as software attached to independent software. For this reason, a tabular list consisting of a vertical axis and a horizontal axis is displayed on the entire window displayed on the display screen, or a plurality of operation buttons are arranged along the side of the window, and the arrangement direction thereof The sub-menu is displayed by opening the sub-window in a direction orthogonal to the sub-menu. For this reason, if you try to pursue the advantage of this tabular format that the whole image (the whole array) is easy to grasp, you will use a lot of space on the display screen, conversely, if you try to display in a small space, There are problems such as it is difficult to grasp the whole image, or the characters are small and difficult to see.

  In view of this, the roller of the present invention is an information processing apparatus capable of displaying menus and items assigned to items in the X-axis direction and the Y-axis direction in an easy-to-understand manner on a display screen in a narrow area. To provide a display method.

  In order to achieve the above object, the present invention provides a storage device storing list data to which corresponding data is assigned to items in the X-axis direction and the Y-axis direction, and browsing and displaying a part of the list data A display device that can be selected as a menu, an operation instruction device that instructs operation control of the browsing display menu, and a control device that controls the display operation of the browsing display menu based on an instruction from the operation instruction device. The browsing display menu includes a predetermined number of rows and columns centered on a home position data display area (HP data area), and at least a row direction or a column direction. The data area of the row or column is reduced and displayed from the HP data area, and the list data is displayed based on a predetermined instruction operation of the operation instruction device. The browsing display menu to which each data is assigned is displayed so as to assign the home position data set in advance to the HP data area, and the data indicated by the coordinate instruction of the operation instruction device is displayed in the HP data area. So that each data is displayed.

  ADVANTAGE OF THE INVENTION According to this invention, visibility and a compact display can be enabled, maintaining the merit of listability.

  The menu display method of the information processing apparatus according to the present invention will be described in detail below with reference to FIGS. 1 to 7 show the first embodiment, and FIGS. 8 and 9 show another embodiment. In addition, the same site | part, direction, etc. are shown with the same code | symbol, and the overlapping description is abbreviate | omitted.

(First embodiment)
FIG. 1 to FIG. 7 are three-dimensional menu display methods employed in the information processing apparatus according to the first embodiment. FIG. 1 is an apparatus block diagram showing a schematic configuration of an information processing apparatus. FIG. 2 is a three-dimensional conceptual diagram showing the three-dimensional structure of the three-dimensional menu. 3A and 3B are operation conceptual diagrams of the stereoscopic menu, in which FIG. 3A is an operation conceptual diagram in the column direction, and FIG. 3B is an operation conceptual diagram in the row direction. FIG. 4 is an operation flowchart of the three-dimensional menu. 5 to 7 are diagrams showing the relationship between the stereoscopic menu and the list data. In each figure, FIG. 5A shows the stereoscopic menu, and FIG. 5B shows the list data. Here, FIG. 5 shows a display example of a stereoscopic display in which the data in the home position data area (HP data area) displays the center value of the list data, and FIG. 6 shows the data in the HP data area of the list data. FIG. 7 is a display example at the left end, and FIG. 7 is a display example when the data in the HP data area is at the top of the list data.

  First, a schematic configuration of an information processing apparatus according to this embodiment will be described with reference to FIG. In FIG. 1, the method for displaying a three-dimensional menu according to this embodiment can be applied to a very general information processing apparatus 1. For example, FIG. 1 shows a block diagram of a typical information processing apparatus. The information processing apparatus 1 includes a display device 10 capable of displaying various types of information, a storage device 11 that stores information such as various operation programs and screen information displayed on the display device 10, and input of character information. And a keyboard 12 capable of inputting detailed operation instructions, a mouse 13 for instructing operation of the cursor 13 displayed on the display device 10 and the three-dimensional menu 100, and the operation of the information processing apparatus 1 are comprehensively controlled. And a control device 15 that performs the above operation. In this embodiment, a printer (not shown) as an output device, a communication device 16 that enables connection to other devices and the Internet, and the like can be provided.

  In this embodiment, the storage device 11 has list data 50 having X-axis items a, b, c, and d in the X-axis direction and Y-axis items A, B, C, and D in the Y-axis direction. Stored. In FIG. 1, for simplicity of explanation, both the X-axis item and the Y-axis item are displayed as simple items, but this is conceptual only. For example, the list display data 50 may be tabular data composed of the X axis and the Y axis, such as spreadsheet software data, program schedule data, schedule data, and function menu data.

  In this embodiment, the three-dimensional menu 100 may be displayed even when stored in the storage device 11, or the corresponding list software is driven on the internal memory of the control device 15, Alternatively, the 3D menu 100 may be displayed on the display screen, or the list data 50 may be hidden on the display screen and only the 3D menu 100 may be displayed.

  In this embodiment, the list data 50 stored in the storage device 11 can be used as the 3D menu 100, and a part of the data can be displayed on the display screen. The three-dimensional menu 100 has a predetermined number of rows and columns with a home position data area (HP data area) 101 as a center, and at least a row or column data area in the row direction or column direction. It is configured with a reduced display.

  That is, the HP data area 101 is arranged at the center of the three-dimensional menu 100, three data areas are arranged on both sides (X-axis direction), and the HP data area 101 is arranged above and below (Y-axis direction). Two rows of data areas are arranged. That is, the 3D menu 100 is composed of a data area of 7 columns and 5 rows centering on the HP data area 101. Furthermore, as the data areas on both sides of the HP data area 101 go in the left-right direction, the data area and the data to be displayed are displayed gradually smaller. In addition, the upper and lower data areas of the HP data area 101 are also gradually displayed smaller in size as they go up and down.

  Further, in this embodiment, the X-axis item name 102 and the Y-axis item name 103 can be displayed by setting at a predetermined position of the stereoscopic menu 100, for example, one side and the upper part. The display contents of the X-axis item name 102 and the Y-axis item name 103 change corresponding to the data in the HP data area 101.

  Thus, the stereoscopic menu 100 according to this embodiment is displayed with a sense of perspective so that the center HP data area 101 is large and the surrounding data area gradually decreases. Further, the HP data area 101 which is the center position is highlighted. According to the three-dimensional menu 100, it is possible to grasp the position of the data displayed in the HP data area 101 in the list data 50, and the data is enlarged and displayed. Can be recognized.

  The data displayed in each area of the 3D menu 100 is called from the list data 50 corresponding to the data in the HP data area 101 and displayed. If the data in the HP data area 101 changes, the data in each data area also changes corresponding to the change.

  For example, in the example of FIG. 1, since the HP data area 101 is “Cd” data, “Cc” and “Ce” are assigned to the data areas on both sides thereof, and “Bd” is assigned to the upper and lower data areas. “Dd” is displayed. When the mouse 14 is moved upward from this state, the data “Bd” is displayed in the HP data area 101. At this time, the three-dimensional menu 101 displays an operation so as to rotate in the Y2 direction around the X rotation axis P1 passing through the center of the HP data area 101 as an animation. With this animation operation, the data in the HP data area 101 changes from “Cd” to “Bd”, and the surrounding data is also displayed by sliding downward (Y2 direction). Similarly, when the mouse 14 is moved to the left, the data in the HP data area 101 is changed from “Cd” to “Cc”, and the surrounding data is displayed by sliding from left to right. At this time, the three-dimensional menu 100 is animated to rotate from the left to the right (X2 direction) about the Y rotation axis P2 passing through the center of the HP data area 101.

  In this embodiment, when the 3D menu 100 is displayed, the cursor 13 is not displayed.

  As described above, according to the three-dimensional menu 100, the menus and items assigned to the items in the X-axis direction and the Y-axis direction can be easily displayed on the display screen in a narrow area.

  Hereinafter, this stereoscopic menu will be described in more detail with reference to FIGS. First, the animation operation of the three-dimensional menu will be described with reference to FIGS.

  2 and 3, in this embodiment, the three-dimensional menu 100 displays a plurality of display boards 110 for displaying each data in a three-dimensional arrangement. As shown in FIG. 3A, one row includes display panels 110 arranged on a moving path 111 formed around the X rotation axis P1. An HP data area 101 or a data area vertically aligned with the HP data area 101 is arranged in the center of the moving path 111, and display plates 110 corresponding to the data areas are arranged in the vertical direction. For this reason, when viewed from the direction of the arrow, the center HP data area 101 is displayed larger, and the data in the vertical direction is displayed gradually smaller. In addition, the upper and lower data areas are displayed overlapping the rear of the central data area, and most of them are covered with the data from the center and cannot be seen at the upper and lower end positions.

  The three-dimensional menu 100 having such an arrangement rotates around the X rotation axis P <b> 1 while maintaining the positional relationship of the display panels 110. In this embodiment, as shown in FIG. 3A, the upper and lower end portions move in parallel, so that there is an end in the Y1 direction or the Y2 direction, and in this end state, as shown in FIG. Is displayed.

  On the other hand, as shown in FIG. 3B, one row is composed of the display boards 110 arranged on the moving path 112 formed around the Y rotation axis P2. The HP data area 101 or a data area side by side with the HP data area 101 is arranged in the center of the moving path 112, and display boards 110 corresponding to the data areas are arranged in the left-right direction. For this reason, when viewed from the direction of the arrow, the central HP data area 101 is displayed larger, and the data in the left-right direction is displayed gradually smaller. In addition, the data areas arranged on the left and right are displayed overlapping the center HP data area 101, and most of the data areas are covered with data from the center and cannot be seen at the positions of the left and right ends.

  The three-dimensional menu 100 having such an arrangement rotates around the Y rotation axis P <b> 2 while maintaining the positional relationship of the display panels 110. In this embodiment, as shown in FIG. 3 (b), the left and right end portions move in parallel, so that there is an end in the X1 direction or the X2 direction. In this end state, as shown in FIG. 6 (a). Is displayed.

  Returning to FIG. 2, as described above, in this embodiment, each data of the list data 50 is assigned to a plurality of display boards 110. A part of the list data 50 is displayed by the operation structure of the three-dimensional menu 100 shown in FIGS. Here, the three-dimensional menu 100 according to this embodiment is composed of a data area of 7 columns and 5 rows with the HP data area 101 as the center, but is not limited to this. The number and the number of columns can be set as appropriate. Needless to say, if the number of data in the list data 50 is small, all of these data are displayed on the stereoscopic menu 100.

  Next, the operation flow of the control device 15 will be further described with reference to FIGS. 4 and 5 to 7. In FIG. 5, when this 3D menu display system is activated, the control device 15 monitors whether or not the left button of the mouse 14 has been clicked (step 200). When the left button is clicked, the stereoscopic menu (3D grid) 100 is displayed so that the center of the HP data area 101 is positioned at the clicked coordinate position (step 202). At this time, if there is no space for displaying the three-dimensional menu 100 at the clicked coordinate position, the control device 15 appropriately displays the position by moving the position in the X direction or the Y direction. Then, the data stored in the storage device 11 is called and displayed in each data area so that the preset HP data is displayed in the HP data area 101 (step 204). Then, the cursor 13 is not displayed (step 206).

  As shown in FIG. 5, in this embodiment, since “Cd” data is set as HP data as an initial setting, this “Cd” is displayed in the HP data area 101, and other data is also set accordingly. These data are also called from the storage device 11 and displayed in each data area.

  Returning to FIG. 4, when the three-dimensional menu 100 is displayed, the control device 15 detects and monitors the moving direction of the non-displayed cursor 13 indicated by the mouse 14 (step 208). Then, the control device 15 performs control while performing the animation operation of the three-dimensional menu 100 so that the data in the moving direction of the cursor 13 is displayed in the HP data area 101 (step 210).

  FIG. 6 shows a state in which the cursor 13 is operated leftward and “Ca” data is displayed in the HP data area 101. As described with reference to FIGS. 2 and 3, in this embodiment, the list data 50 shown in FIG. 6B is displayed as the three-dimensional menu 100, so that the state currently displayed to the user is a list. It is necessary to inform that the leftmost data of the table data 50 is being displayed. In this embodiment, as shown in FIG. 6A, the control device 15 hides the data area without data so that the user can see this state at a glance.

  FIG. 7 shows a state in which the cursor 13 is operated upward and “Ac” data is displayed in the HP data area 101. Even in this state, similarly to FIG. 6, the control device 15 hides the data area without data.

  Returning to FIG. 4, the control device 15 monitors whether or not the left button has been double-clicked (step 212). In this embodiment, when the three-dimensional menu 100 is displayed, the cursor 13 is hidden and the HP data area 101 is always highlighted and is in a selected state. In this state, when the left button is double-clicked, the control device 15 determines that the data of the HP data area 101 in the selected state has been determined (step 214). When this determination operation is performed, the control device 15 executes the process assigned to the data displayed in the HP data area 101 and deletes the three-dimensional menu 100. Here, although not described in the flow of FIG. 4, the stereoscopic menu 100 can be deleted by clicking the right button of the mouse 14.

(Other embodiments)
8 and 9 show another embodiment of the animation operation of the three-dimensional menu. FIGS. 8 and 9 are conceptual diagrams of the operation of the three-dimensional menu. FIGS. 8A and 9A are conceptual diagrams of operations in the column direction, and FIGS. 8B and 9B are operations in the front direction. It is a conceptual diagram.

  The animation operation of the stereoscopic menu 100 shown in FIG. 8 is displayed with a sense of perspective in the column direction, but operates so as to perform data display with a data area having the same size as the HP data area 101 in the row direction. It is something to control. According to this embodiment, since the data areas arranged in the horizontal direction are displayed in the same size, it is convenient when performing a data search while comparing adjacent data.

  In addition, the animation operation of the three-dimensional menu 100 shown in FIG. 9 performs an animation operation display that circulates in both the column direction and the row direction. Therefore, according to this embodiment, when the cursor is moved in the same direction, the same data is repeatedly displayed. For this reason, this operation is effective when there is not much data such as an operation menu.

  Furthermore, the embodiment shown in FIGS. 8 and 9 may be set to be appropriately changeable in accordance with the embodiment shown in FIG. By making such a setting possible, it is possible to display an appropriate 3D menu according to the properties of the list data.

  As described above, according to this embodiment, the storage device storing the list data to which the corresponding data is assigned to the items in the X-axis direction and the Y-axis direction, and browsing a part of the list data A display device that is selectably displayed as a display menu (stereoscopic menu 100), an operation instruction device that instructs operation control of the browsing display menu, and a control device that controls the display operation of the browsing display menu based on an instruction from the operation instruction device And can be applied to an information processing apparatus including

  The browsing display menu has a predetermined number of rows and columns with a home position data display area (HP data area) as the center, and at least a row or column data area in the row direction or the column direction. A browsing display menu that is configured to be displayed in a reduced size from the area and that assigns each data so that home position data preset in the list data is assigned to the HP data area based on a predetermined instruction operation of the operation instruction device. Each data can be displayed so that the data indicated by the coordinate instruction of the operation instruction device is displayed in the HP data area.

  Also, as a coordinate pointing device, a trackball or a joystick is effective instead of a mouse. Moreover, although the said embodiment demonstrated as a 3D menu long in a horizontal direction, it is good also as a 3D menu long in a vertical direction.

It is an apparatus block diagram which shows schematic structure of an information processing apparatus. It is a three-dimensional conceptual diagram which shows the three-dimensional structure of a three-dimensional menu. It is an operation | movement conceptual diagram of a three-dimensional menu. It is an operation | movement flowchart of a three-dimensional menu. It is a related figure of a solid menu and list data. It is a related figure of a solid menu and list data. It is a related figure of a solid menu and list data. It is an operation | movement conceptual diagram of another three-dimensional menu. It is an operation | movement conceptual diagram of another three-dimensional menu.

Explanation of symbols

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 ... Information processing apparatus, 10 ... Display apparatus, 11 ... Memory | storage device, 12 ... Keyboard, 13 ... Cursor, 14 ... Mouse, 15 ... Control apparatus, 16 ... Communication apparatus, 50 ... List data, 100 ... Three-dimensional menu, 101 ... HP data area, 102 ... X-axis item name, 103 ... Y-axis item name, 110 ... Display board, 111 ... Movement path, movement path 112, P1 ... X rotation axis, P2 ... Y rotation axis.

Claims (1)

A storage device storing list data to which corresponding data is assigned to items in the X-axis direction and the Y-axis direction, a display device that selectively displays a part of the list data as a browsing display menu, and An information processing apparatus display method comprising: an operation instruction device that instructs operation control of a browsing display menu; and a control device that controls display operation of the browsing display menu based on an instruction of the operation instruction device,
The browsing display menu has a predetermined number of rows and columns with a home position data display area as a center, and at least a row or column data area in a row direction or a column direction is reduced and displayed from the home position data area. Configured,
Based on a predetermined instruction operation of the operation instruction device, the browsing display menu to which each data is assigned so as to assign home position data preset in the list data to the home position data area is displayed, Each data is displayed so that the data indicated by the coordinate instruction of the operation instruction device is displayed in the home position data area,
The control apparatus includes a mode for displaying the list data together with the browsing display menu on the display device.

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